How swisspartners automated transaction processing across 1,600 client portfolios

A firm managing €5.5 billion across five countries — and still growing

The swisspartners Group is an independent Swiss financial services provider dedicated since 1993 to the needs of its international private clients. Today it is one of the largest financial services providers in Switzerland and growing internationally.

The waiver of bank secrecy, tightened regulatory provisions, increased investment market demands, and growing competition have challenged the traditional independent asset manager. Both private and institutional clients increasingly favour financial service providers offering a comprehensive spectrum of services.

For years swisspartners has successfully expanded into business activities complementary to traditional wealth management, such as Swiss and international trust services and unit-linked insurance solutions. Today the swisspartners Group represents more than €5.5 billion in assets, 1,600 client relationships, 100 employees, and locations in Zurich, Geneva, Feldkirch, and Vaduz, and a representative office in Madrid.

Two core systems. Both depend on clean data

The core systems at swisspartners are the portfolio management system (PMS) and the customer relationship management system (CRM), both from industry experts EXPERSOFT. These systems allow swisspartners to efficiently serve more than 1,600 demanding clients from all over the world.

Statements from 700+ banks, in every format and language

For the PMS to deliver its accurate and valuable services, it needs large volumes of transaction data — error-free and up-to-date on every single transaction related to a client's portfolio. This adds up to thousands and thousands of transactions each month, from multiple banks all over the world, and in a myriad of different formats and languages.

Such transaction data does not come easily — especially when both quality and speed are paramount. At swisspartners they have previous experience gathering the data using raw manpower, both internally and outsourced. But neither approach provides a long-term sustainable solution. Automation is a must.

Electronic feeds alone are not enough

Electronic transaction feeds are part of the solution. Unless you are willing to limit your clients to only a few banking options, they will not be a viable solution for all transactions anytime soon.

This is where Next Transaction Feeder — a vital component of Next Bank Statements — fits in. Next reads statements from more than 700 banks, in any language, from PDF, XML, or paper, and converts them into high-quality transaction data. Ready for validation before transfer to the PMS.

Every transaction document stored, indexed, and accessible

All transaction documents are stored automatically and securely in the Next Enterprise Archive. They are accessible directly from within the EXPERSOFT CRM solution, and via an encrypted connection available to staff from any swisspartners location in the world.

Business rules handle the routine. Experts handle the rest

Validation of high-value financial transactions requires deep expertise and is managed by the swisspartners Data & Processes team. To help them perform faster and better, Next Processes is equipped with a set of complex business rules tied to each individual transaction type. An easy-to-use interface, intelligent processes, and the ability to see the original transaction document help secure both quality and efficiency.

Once a transaction is transferred to the PMS, everything is available in the Enterprise Archive — including a bulletproof audit log that documents everything to the millisecond.

Managing GDPR without drowning in it

Wealth management is — like banking — a highly regulated industry. Like any business dealing with EU citizens, swisspartners must comply with GDPR (the EU's personal data protection regulation). Without an enterprise archive and well-documented processes, such compliance requirements constitute an overwhelming and ever-growing challenge.

Next does not eliminate this challenge, but makes it more manageable — according to Kristian Bader, COO & Partner at swisspartners.

With Next from Nextway, we got both a platform for process automation, and a valuable partner for the future.
— Othmar Büeler, Head IT, swisspartners